Multi-seat vehicles, such as vans, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and the like, typically have second and third row vehicle seats that are placed rearwardly of the driver and front passenger's (first row) vehicle seats. In order to ready the vehicle for carrying cargo, some vehicles have heretofore been provided with second or third row seats that are storable in tubs or recesses defined within the floor of the vehicle.
Passenger vehicle mechanisms exist that provide vehicle seat assemblies with stored-in-floor functionality, whereby the backrest portion may be pivoted frontwardly to a “fold-flat” position, whereat the backrest portion substantially overlies the seat cushion portion in a generally horizontal orientation, such that the entire seat assembly may thereafter be tilted or pivotally rotated into a corresponding floor tub. In the case of, for example, a second or third row passenger seat in a minivan or the like, placing the vehicle seat assembly at its stored-in-floor configuration facilitates carriage of large or lengthy objects, such as skis or lumber, inside the vehicle.
Vehicle floor tubs are generally positioned directly fore or aft of such second or third row vehicle seat assemblies. A problem with existing stored-in-floor arrangements, however, is that the widely varying frames and underbodies of different vehicle types do not always allow for such directly fore or aft positioning of the floor tubs, and/or make same undesirable. Moreover, there are a number of situations in which it has heretofore been desirable to provide vehicles with floor tubs that are laterally offset from their respectively corresponding second or third row seats. In such situations, it has been necessary to provide vehicle seat assemblies that have lateral motion mechanisms. Manually operated and power-driven lateral motion mechanisms are known to exist. Insofar as seat assemblies provided with such mechanisms have required the user either to manually shift the seat in the lateral direction, or to independently actuate the power-drive mechanism, they have necessarily involved an extra step as compared with seat assemblies that are simply rotated into floor tubs positioned directly fore or aft of the seat. This factor is one which has tended to create extra work for the user, making it less convenient to store such vehicle seat assemblies, and has decreased the attractiveness of vehicles having such seat assemblies in the eyes of consumers. Seats provided with power-driven lateral motion mechanisms have an additional disadvantage insofar as such devices lend an increased complexity and cost to the vehicle seat design, with a concomitant increased tendency to become damaged through ordinary use or to otherwise fail at an inappropriate or inconvenient time.
As such, there is a clear need for a vehicle seat assembly that may be mounted to the floor of the vehicle in such a manner as to provide for its simple, positive and automatic lateral translation during the usual process of folding it forwardly or rearwardly into a tub formed in the vehicle floor, without any special action being required on the part of a user. Moreover, there is a need for such a vehicle seat assembly to make use of the ordinary pivotal rotation of the seat assembly into the floor tub to effect its lateral translation.
A number of further issues are of serious concern to present-day vehicle manufacturers, who demand continually higher quality content at increasingly lower prices. For example, there is a further need for the laterally translatable vehicle seat assembly to be lightweight, quiet in use, and capable of fitting into a relatively small design envelope. Additional concerns include simplicity of design, and a reasonable economy of manufacture, assembly, and installation. Such design should also provide adequate strength, durability and reliability. Further, it is desirable to provide a laterally translatable vehicle seat assembly that is easy to use, with relatively little effort being required on the part of a user in order to reach the stored-in-floor configuration.